Build for military

D

Deadeye (+)

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Mar 14, 2016
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Hey guys brand new member here. Been making knives for a few years and I have a good friend possibly shipping out overseas this year. I'm lookin to build him a combat knife that puts what you can buy off the shelf to shame. Looking for design ideas as well as any other input as far as materials go. So far I've figured on a blade style similar to a the Gerber LHR. Maybe using 5160. Going with a ceracoat in the end. Carbon fiber scales and a kydex sheath. Looking for opinions on anything here. Very important build to me as it's going to aid one of the men defending this country. While it may not save anyone's life I know my knife has got me out of a pinch of two before. So any opinions you guys could give me are very much appreciated. Thanks!
 
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If anything, I'd up the edge holding with an alternative tough steel like 80crv2 or 3V on the high end.

The main thing I see as a mistake in "hard use" knives are rivet or other large holes near an inlet for the index finger, effectively greatly weakening the tang. I would also avoid partial serrations, also to avoid breaking anything in use.

Grinding carbon fiber produces some of the most dangerous airborne fibers around. Careful with that stuff.

Cool project!
 
Have any pics of knives you have made? As to your knife your wanting to make what are the tools you have at your disposal. Being that this is your first post your going to get people asking what equiptment you have and why your profile is not filled out. But all that aside I will say this, I HATE carbon fiber. It sucks to work with and I don't care for it as a handle material. I have a good size sheet of it and it just sits on the shelf becaus with material like micarta out there there is no need to mess with the itchy carbon fiber. As to you blade material, me personally I love 5160. But that's in part because I have used it a lot and worked out a system with it and it does not let me down. But that being said there are lots of steels out there that can do what 5160 does and exceed in other aspects depending on what you want it to do. I like kydex for sheaths but just make sure that you set up your retention areas properly so the knife does not come flying out as the sheath wears. Last but not least is your blade coating, me personally and this is just me and my preferences is I don't like anything coating the blade besides oil if it's a carbon steel. Good luck and Welcom to the forum, let's see some pics of the knives you have made.
 
A large chunk of what I build is for military, or built as if for military usage. Sounds like you're thinking in the right direction, though there might be some refinement. 5160 should do well, but as stated before, I might suggest 80CrV2. Similar heat treatment, at least as tough, with better edge holding.

Carbon fiber would probably be fine for the handle, but my handle material of choice is TeroTuf. Works like Micarta, is lighter, tougher, and grippier, and less toxic to work with.

The LHR looks like a fairly solid design, though the serrations would be a matter of opinion on whether they are more of a detriment than a benefit.
 
My son asked for the ultimate in unbreakability for the handle of his deployment knife, and we chose paracord soaked in epoxy on a chunk of 1/8" D2. A whatchacallit on the end of the handle is nice, too (sharp corner with a lanyard hole) in case you have to break glass or thump something or someone.
This is one place where a tanto style blade makes sense, since there's nothing stronger for piercing. And of course some kind of guard to keep the pink bits off the sharp end. If the Gerber is your inspiration you probably have that covered.
Not a big fan of CF for that kind of knife, I don't think it's terribly grippy.
 
Maybe something like this:

UdrphfY.jpg


I'd probably go with a 3/4 flat grind with 3V. Around .200" at the spine down to .020 or .025 behind the edge at a 20 degree per side edge. I would also use black G10 or micarta with bright orange or red liners. You could incorporate a glass breaker/ skull crusher but that would severely reduce its utility. Maybe the butt ground into a prying edge would still work as a skull crusher yet have a utilitarian aspect. I'd still prefer a flat butt to hammer on stuff. Glass breakers tend to get caught on gear and jab into your ribs. They can also cut up nylon pretty easy, which is what would happen when cramped into a vehicle with a bunch of other guys. You don't want your vest rig cut up by the butt of a knife you carry.

I had a test blade made of the design above and opened crates, split wood, batoned through nails and packing staples and whatnot. It's 4V and was strong enough but you can get 3V cheaper and it'd do the job. And if you got it heat treated by Peters then I doubt you could get a steel better suited for the job.

It has to be small enough to carry without getting in the way of more important things like radios and extra mags. Skeletonize the tang, those extra ounces matter. If it's between a 12 ounce knife and a 12 ounce gun cleaning kit, I'm gonna carry the gun cleaning kit. I could make an 8 ounce knife with a 4 to 4.5 inch blade fit about anywhere. Any bigger and it may just stay in my locker.

And don't make it so pretty that shady guys will want to steal it. Understated utilitarianism. Anything more will get stolen. Carbon fiber will get the knife stolen.

The ZT 0180 is a really good template.
 
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Awesome information there guys. Definitely things to consider. May not look towards the carbon fiber. As for equipment just your basic metal shop. Light duty mill/lathe, bench and hand grinders, drill press, forge stuff like that. Ill get some of what I've made up too
 
We have had many long threads on building knives for in-theater use. Despite the movies and TV, there is more than just a big Rambo knife to it.

Use the BF custom search engine to find and read these past threads.
https://cse.google.com/cse/home?cx=011197018607028182644:qfobr3dlcra

Search "Making knife for military, making combat knife, military deployment knife, Afghanistan knife, fighting knife, IDF knife, etc."

There are rules about knives in the military. Read this, too - http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/633882-Military-knife-regulations



I have said it before, but I will repeat it - The most used knife in-theater is a beefy folder or a 3" blade drop point hunter in 3/16" steel. Most all knife use is opening cases of gear and food, or cutting rope, line, wire. It is very unlikely you will ever do hand-to-hand combat with a big fighting knife. It is also likely that the commanders won't allow large knives. This varies from unit to unit, but it is wise to check things out first.
 
Deadeye (+) said:
https://imageshack.us/i/pmf3eApcj
https://imageshack.us/i/pomY8ZRXj
https://imageshack.us/i/pop3lFlSj
https://imageshack.us/i/pmV2qO08j
https://imageshack.us/i/po2DK8otj

Ok guys there's some of my previous work. Not the best of pictures but I'm getting better at that portion of the job. The last link is the design I've come up with. 9 and a quarter long overall. What do you guys think? Also I've heeded advice and will be going with micarta rather than CF
Click to expand...

Since you asked...

The peak in the middle of the cutting edge will be a bitch to sharpen on the fly, especially with the recurve portion right behind it.

The thumb ramp if executed wrong will be uncomfortable if used for any length of time. Maybe tone it down some and add some light jimping to it so it's not quite so aggressive but still serves the purpose you're looking for.
The finger guard by itself should be plenty to keep the hand from sliding forward. Add some contours to the micarta handle and it'd be pretty danged secure.

Keep the butt flared out the butt just a little bit side to side or create a little bit of a hawk bill to be able to securely pull the knife out of something so a gloved hand doesn't slip off when wet.
 
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